Local Harvest

Local Harvest / Farmers Markets / Family Farms / CSA / Organic Food

This is a fabulous website that supplies information for many local producers of food across the U.S.  Siimply tell them where you are located, then search for a local CSA, farmer’s market, meat producer, farms, and restaurants.  This is a must-have for anyone interested in ensuring their food is locally produced.

Your Footprint

Ecological Footprint Quiz by Redefining Progress

When’s the last time you checked your ecological footprint?  Do it today.  Redefining progress has an ever-evolving tool to measure your impact on this earth.

The Barrel Man

The Barrel Man – Home

This man often has a Craig’s List ad, and if you’re in the Portland Metro area… Nic is a great source for barrels.  Check out this site to see what types, sizes, and prices he offers.  And, of course, for his wit in describing what on earth you can use a barrel for.

Free Wood Chips – Mulch This

If we really want to consider all aspects of sustainability, we must consider our economic contributions.  I’ve been thinking green for many years, and now is the time (more than ever) to continue to refine how I act green.

So, if for example, natural systems should produce and decompose to produce again, then we need to be thinking very locally.  If mulching is important in gardening, then what better source than truly local – mulch from your neighborhood or your own yard.

The City of Portland was trimming tree branches near electrical wires this week, and we saw the sign, “Free Wood Chips.”  So, we told the gentlemen we would like to take them up on the offer.  Friday, 10 cubic yards of wood chips were dropped on our driveway, the same spot that hosted 4 cubic yards of screened dirt three months ago.  Being able to sieze opportunities like this is crucial when thinking about going green.  How can we use what we have?  What options are within our reach that won’t cost us out of pocket anything?  Not only have we not paid for these, I’m comparing this to all the $3.50 bags of cedar-bark mulch we purchased from Lowe’s last summer; but we also got them delivered for free too!  Just think about it.

Beth stands at 5′7″.

The wood chips aren’t just steaming, they are HOT. Or rather, very warm to the touch.

This is the backside view of the mulch. You can see how far back 10 cubic yards goes.